Worldline registers 12.6% Y/Y rise in revenue in H1 2022
Provider of payment services Worldline SA (EPA:WLN) today announced its financial results for the first half of 2022.
Worldline’s H1 2022 revenue reached €2,020 million, representing a solid 12.6% revenue organic growth (of which +13.5% in Q2). This achievement was reached thanks, in particular, to the continuous growth acceleration in Merchant Services reflecting the widespread and rapid shift towards digital payments as well as the Group’s strong positioning following the acquisition of Ingenico.
Mobility & e-Transactional Services also contributed to growth acceleration, delivering a strong +10.3% organic growth in Q2 after having delivered +8.4% in Q1. Financial Services was up by +3.0% in Q2 (+2.5% in Q1) despite the temporary impact from the price decrease conceded by the Group for the successful synchronous renewals of historical large contracts of Equens done in Q4 2021.
This strong execution also materialized in the Group’s Operating Margin before Depreciation and Amortization (OMDA) reaching €468 million in H1 2022.
Net loss Group share amounted to €42 million, including a €96 million loss attributable to discontinued operations.
Net income Group share from continued operations reached €53 million, stable year-on-year. Normalized net income Group share from continued operations (excluding unusual and infrequent items, Group share, net of tax) reached €213 million, increasing by +26.2% or €44 million compared to H1 2021 Normalized net income Group share (restated in application of IFRS 5).
Normalized diluted EPS was € 0.76 in H1 2021 compared to € 0.59 in H1 2021 (restated in application of IFRS 5).
Free cash flow from continued operations in H1 2021 was €229 million, representing a 49.0% cash conversion of OMDA (free cash flow divided by OMDA), in line with the expected half-yearly pattern of 2022.
Group Net debt before IFRS 5 amounted to €3,456 million at the end of June 2022, reflecting free cash flow generated over the semester on one side, as well as the cash-out for the acquisitions closed during the period on the other side.
Gilles Grapinet, Worldline’s CEO, said:
“Worldline executed a very satisfactory first half of the year with a strong organic growth of 12.6%, accelerating again in Q2, confirming, 18 months after the start of the Ingenico integration, the power of our enhanced competitive positioning. This performance was, in particular, reached thanks to the very dynamic growth in Merchant Services with a steady expansion of acquiring volumes, a solid merchants count deployment, and numerous new large merchant wins and partnerships.
In parallel, we continued to execute our strategic initiatives during the semester with the closing of three acquisitions (Axepta Italy, ANZ commercial acquiring business in Australia, and Eurobank Merchant Acquiring in Greece) which will, from now on, significantly contribute to our Merchant Services success. The disposal process of TSS is fully on track, with closing confirmed for the second half of the year. This will provide Worldline with further financial flexibility to seize consolidation opportunities in our strong M&A pipeline.
Thanks to this very strong start of the year, we fully confirm our 2022 annual guidance, and reiterate our 2024 ambition to establish Worldline as a premium global Paytech at the heart of the European payment ecosystem.”